Weakest Link?
by Lauriena
Summary: Answer the the children challege on ssb... the crew gets turned into kids as part of an attack... will they and more imporantly rommie surivie thier second childhoods


_I know I have to update my other fics before starting new ones, but I never was a child to put back my toys when I was done playing with them and I am not going to deny my muse cause he won't give me any ideas for my other stories… ok he has but sleep over ruled writing _

Title- The Weakest Link?

Summary- Answer to children challenge http://www.slipstreambbs.com/ubb/Forum5/HTML/001633.html

Rating- PG-13 (look minimal Harper owes, but bad Dylan langue… so far but I don't think it will get any worst)

Disclaimer-I am currently eating easy Mac out of a glad ware container do you think I own andromea???

A/N-I am posting this in pieces over a slipstream but I putting up big chunks here, if you are dying for updates go there http://www.slipstreambbs.com/ubb/Forum5/HTML/001642.html

_~~~*~~~_
    
    _Suffer the little creatures,_
    
    _for__ they may yet rise up_
    
    _and__ beat you senseless._
    
    _Magic Card_
    
    _~~~*~~~_

Dylan sat up pushing stray hairs put of his face, he winced as he touched a sore spot on his head and drew his hand back; there was some blood on his hand.  Not enough to be a large cut but enough to go to medical to get it cleaned; not before getting the ship check out through.  "Andromea report" Dylan said as he stood up, looking around andromea's bridge and the flashing lights and smoke pouring out of some consoles.

            "Please identify self." Andromea AI stated as she popped onto the main view screen.

            "Rommie it's me."  Dylan said as blew some hair that had fallen in his eyes.

            "Captain Dylan Hunt is not currently aboard the andromea, I don't who you are trying to fool."

            "Fool?  Rommie has Harper been messing around with your programming again."

            "My programming is none of your concern now stay there or I will be forced to use my internal defenses."

            "Rommie what is going on?"  A bot entered the bridge with a force lance in it hand.  "Dylan opened his mouth to ask another question but Andromea interrupted him.

            "Go with the bot and you will not get hurt."  Dylan walked out of the bridge and down the hallway.  After a few decks his discovered they were heading straight to V-deck.  "Rommie what the hell is going on?"

            "Just follow the bot."  When Dylan entered the cell he was surrounded by four young children.

            "What the hell is happening?"

            "You tell me oh fearless leader."  The blonde girl said as she put her hands on her hips.  Dylan was still wondering what was going on, the girl sounded just like Beka.  

That was puzzling but even more was that before him stood and short blonde boy with bright blue eyes, the blonde hair, blue eyed girl who was currently giving him the look of death, a black Nietzschean boy, and a unnaturally pale girl with a silver sparkle to her skin, pointy ears and purple eyes.  The boy went back to sitting on the floor and tinkering with some wires sticking out of the panel.  He was about to tell the kid to be careful when he noticed the tool belt and dataport.  "Harper?"

"Yeah?"  The boy said looking up at Dylan.

"What happened to all of you guys?"  Dylan said as he walked over to the kid that was now Harper.  Sitting down on a bed across from where he was working

"Well you tell us, you where on the bridge before we all got to engage in our second childhood." Harper said not looking up from his work.

"Is that why I was spared?"

"Dylan what are you talking about. You are now a munchkin like the rest of us."  Dylan stared down at his hands, they were smaller and much younger looking.  He looked down at the rest of him.  His high guard uniform hung loosely around his small frame.

"So any clue why we can now get kids admission to fun land?"

"Cleary whoever attacked us wanted us to be weak; children are often the weakness link in a society."  Tyr spoke up from the corner he was standing in.  Harper notably flinched as Tyr walked over to were he and Dylan where talking.

~~~*~~~

Harper stared down more intently at the part he was working on, he knew it was just Tyr, a baby Tyr at that but just the smell of his Nietzschean blood made him want to run and hide.  He had flashes of the camps going through his head and he could feel sweat starting to form on his brow… what was this?  He had gotten over the camps, over the memories.

            He kept his fingers moving over the wires, a small shock sent him back to the andromea and away from earth.  "So what now boss?"  Harper looked up at where Beka was standing, somehow that felt more natural right now, going to Beka for answers.  If Dylan noticed he didn't comment.

            "We need to get out of here and get back control of Rommie before whoever did this to us decides to show up."

            Harper felt four sets of eyes rest upon him, "I'm on it!"  He practically yelled as he got back to working on the wires spread out in front of him.  He managed to suppress how upset he was for the moment, and got back to working.  Stripping down the wires and figuring out how to cross them the right way was like a giant puzzle.  He felt himself claming down, all he doubts and fears disappeared as he worked on the wires.  A few more connections and Rommie Hologram AI appeared in the cell in front of him.

            "Harper?"

            "Yeah it's me, mini-me!"

            Not wasting time with jokes Dylan pushed himself in front of Harper, who began to pout at the interference between him and Rommie.  "So what happened Rommie and how do we reverse it?"

            "A signal was sent through the comms when I opened it sent a shockwave through the ship changing each one of your biofrequencies and forcing all to about the age of 8.

            "But why can we still remember everything if we are only 8," Harper spoke up from behind Dylan fearing the answer.

            "Your minds are slowly getting there, but I think you already knew that Harper."  Harper tried to hide the chuckle Rommie must have overridden the missing command that caused the clothes to appear on her hologram.  He thought he had just messed up the wires.  She was right though, that was more something he would have done as a sex starved teen, enough slaps in the face later he knew better.  

Tyr walked up to stand beside Dylan; Harper felt his chest starting to tighten at his present.  He tried to slow his breathing and calm down but he couldn't.  Finally he found himself backpedaling across the floor and under one of the bunks that lined the walls.  He sat there rocking back and forth looking for his knife that he always kept in a secret pocket in his pants, but it wasn't there.  He hunted through his clothes for something, anything to defend himself against the urber.  He found a wicked looking tool, part of him knew the name for it but he couldn't seem to access that data right now.

~~~*~~~

Beka watched Harper slide across the floor and under the bed, it was almost a frantic move but he did it so stealthy that neither Tyr nor Dylan had noticed.  Rommie just continued talking to Dylan and Tyr but gave a quick nod to Beka.  Beka sat down next to the bunk that Harper was hidden under.  "You gonna come out kid."

            "No, not well that urber is out there, are you crazy?"

            "Come on, Tyr is not going to hurt you and we need you to help us figure out what is wrong with the ship."

            "But why are we on a ship?  Where's earth?  What happen, are we slaves on the urbers' ship?"

            "Harper we are on andromea, you're the engineer here and we need you to get the ship fixed."

            "My name's not Harper and I am no ships engineer so you can stop playing with me."

            "Yes you are Seamus, and without you this ship wouldn't run."

            "Fine why are we here?"

            "To help captain terrific over there restore the common wealth, or did we already do that?"  Beka shook her head trying to get her thoughts straight; she caught sight of her blonde hair.  Wasn't her hair supposed to be red?  She activated her nanobots changing it back, now if she could just figure out where she had run away to now and why Dad hadn't found her yet.  Part of her remembers the Andromea but somehow her childhood on the Maru was becoming so much clear.  First things first she had to get this boy out from under this bed and find a way back to the maru or why she was now here.  

She grabbed the boy by the wrist and dragged him out from under the bed.  He started to kick and swing at her with the tool in his one hand.  She knocked it out of his hand.  The boy dived on top of her somehow; she felt his wrist twist under her grip.  She winced just thinking of how much that had to hurt but he kept attacking her.  She let go of his wrist and flipped over so she was now on top.  He kept squirming even though she had him fully pin.  She was amazed at the speed she had taken him down but he was half the size of Rafe and she had some weight and size on the boy.  Although he still wasn't giving up.  She rolled off of him and stood up offering him her hand.  But he sweep her feet out from under her and pinned down her feet with his legs and was holding down her hands.

"Who is this Dylan guy?"  The boy said staring into Beka's eyes.  She was completely pinned and couldn't move.  How could such a thin thing take her down like that?  She was afraid of what the boy would do when he told her she didn't know the answer to the question.  She never did find the answer as the boy went completely stiff as he was lifted into the air by a Nietzschean boy and thrown over the Nietzschean shoulder. 

~~*~~

"What is wrong with you two?"  Tyr yelled as he sat Harper back down on the floor.  Harper crumpled on the floor and then slid across the floor and under another bunk lining the walls.  Tyr could smell the fear radiating off the boy and took a step back from the bunk only to bump into Beka who was crawling across the floor after Harper.

            "Oh no you don't, I didn't just haul you out for you to go back under!"  Beka cried out as she began pulling Harper out from under the bed.  Harper was kicking a Beka but the bruises forming across her arms.  Tyr reached out to separate the two kids again but Beka bit his arm as he picked her up.  He dropped her grabbing his arm and holding himself back from striking Beka.  She was operating as a child and for the moment he still had his senses.  The two kids continued to wrestle on the ground until Tyr heard Harper let out a small whimper.  This had gone on too far.

            "Beka put Harper down!"  Tyr commanded.

            Beka dropped Harper's arm and turned and face Tyr with both her hands on her hips.  "Who the hell do you think you are urber telling me what to do?"  Tyr bit his lip for a minute trying to think of how to explain the situation to baby Beka.

            "I am Tyr; we've been on the Andromea for over two years together…"

            "What are you on?  I have lived on the Maru since I was born and this way to clean to be the maru."

            "No Beka, you aren't a little girl anymore, you're a grown-up…"

            "Yeah right, I am a kid, just like you."

            "No Beka, he's right.  You've been on the andromea for two years now as my first officer.  We were attacked by something that turned us all into kids again and I guess it is stealing our memories too."  Dylan spoke up trying to intercede between Tyr and Beka.  It was all Tyr could do not to roll his eyes at Dylan.  Who was he to think that he could magically solve all of their problems?  "Rommie can you get us out of here?"

            "In a moment, accessing V-deck controls, opening doors, but it might be better to wait till you all have regressed before you start exploring the ship."

            "Ship we don't need you opinion on how do operate!"  Tyr yelled.  He was sick of being told what to do.  He had survived on his own for a long time he didn't need some ship giving him instructions.  He walked through the door trying to escape the confusion he felt building in his brain along with a pounding headache.  It had just started but it was building with every step he took.  He broke into a run to clear his thoughts.  His mind registered a voice calling his name but he couldn't respond the pain was like a cloud blocking his thoughts.

            "Tyr stop!"  A young female voice cried out breaking his thoughts.  It was Trance; he was sure of that much the pitch of her voice was completely different.  The sweetest was still there but it was surrounded by a present he had never felt before.  The present seemed to clear the cloud in his head before he passed out.

~~~*~~~

            Rommie heard the yelling followed by the crystal clear voice of Trance over the confusion.  She then heard the unmistakable sound of someone hitting the floor.  She sped up her pace till she was standing out side of the cell with three young faces staring up at her and Tyr passed out on the floor.  It was one thing to see the vid images but to see the crew before her as kids well that was another thing.

            "So if the whole crew got turned into kids why is she here uh?  And were is the rest of the crew?  A ship these big can't be run by 5 people?"  Beka said looking at Dylan.  The two of them were standing over Tyr and Trance was knelt beside him.  Harper had crawled out from under the bed but was crouched in next to it ready to run if anyone took notice of him.

            "Why don't you all come with me and I'll explain," Rommie said as she knelt down and picked up Tyr.  "Trance do you think you can still help me in medical?"

            "I won't be able to reach everything but I am still me."  The little girl that was now Trance said.  Her purple eyes where almost hidden under the mass of turquoise hair that had started to come undone from the small braids it had been in before.  Her features were now pale, almost gray but there was a sparkle to it.  Part of Rommie thought she looked like a walking corpus but the hints of purple and green in her skin gave some life to her features even if they did make Rommie keep taking readings to make sure she wasn't suffering from hypothermia.  Trance picked up Tyr amazed in how such a small child could be so heavy.

            "Where are you taking him?"  Rommie turned to see a Harper still crouched down looking up at her with big eyes.

            "To medical, we want to make sure he is ok."  Rommie said as she turned to look at Harper, part of her was torn between getting Tyr to medical and getting Harper to come out of his shell.

            Dylan walked up to Harper and offered him his hand, "if you want I can show you."  

Timidly Harper took Dylan's hand, "is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"What everyone is saying, that this ship is run by us kids?  That the Nietzschean and I get along?  That the redhead that was formally blonde is the first officer and I am the engineer?"  The slight rise in Harper's voice when he said engineer was not lost on Dylan.

"Yeah Harper, it's all true."

"Then why does everyone keep calling me Harper, my name isn't Harper?"

"Cause when you grow up that is what you go by."

"But I am not grown up yet, so I am still Shay."

"Ok," Dylan said with a laugh, "we'll call you Shay then."

The six of them walked into medical and Trance disappeared for a few minutes as Rommie laid Tyr down on a bed.  Trance appeared again with a small stool in her hands.  Settling it down next to the bed she climbed up although her waist was still below the top of the table so only her head and arms showed.  Trance worked running brain scans of Tyr and then began looking over the results.  She turned and looked at Harper and Beka, "could you two hop on the bed for me?"

Harper hid behind Dylan and Beka just put her hands on her hips, a pose that Rommie was getting way to familiar with.  "Why do you want me to do that, I'm not sick and I don't see…." Beka was cut off as Rommie lifted her up on to the bed.  She crossed her arms pouting for a moment and then started laughing.

"What's so funny?"  Harper asked from behind Dylan's legs.

"Cause I still am forced to do stuff I don't wanna do and I am an adult, I figured I could do anything once I grew up."

"Sadly that is never the case," Dylan said as he stepped away so Rommie could reach Harper.  She put him on the same bed as Beka were the both began elbowing each other.  Rommie moved Harper over a little and stood between them as Trance moved her box and continued her scans.

"Rommie you want to show the three brain scans side by side for everyone?"  Trance said as she stepped down from her box almost tripping over her oversized clothes.  The scans appeared in front of everyone and Trance walked over to them only to find they were several inches above her head.

"Sorry," Rommie said moving the scans down to where Trance could reach them.  She noted she was going to have to change a lot she had never been designed to have children aboard, much less be run by children.

"Basically what I found is with Shay and Beka brain scans they have reverted back to what they were when they both were around eight.  Tyr's is trying to do that but whatever did this to us was designed for humans.  It worked fine for changing his body but his mind was another matter, but in a few hours Tyr will be a normal eight year old Nietzschean without any side effects."

"But if it is designed for humans why do I still remember everything and how is it going to affect you?"  Dylan asked.

"Age," Rommie spoke from where she was standing still running interference between Beka and Harper.  "You are 300 years older than anyone else on board so it is taking longer, and the weapon is still trying to figure out Trance's DNA and how to turn her back as well.

"How long until none of us remember?"

"Not long, a few hours maybe days at most I would say."

"Then whoever did this to us will…" but Dylan never finished his sentence as the ship was rocked by firing.

            "No Dylan I would say that whoever is here."

~~~*~~~

            Trance grabbed onto the medical bed to keep from falling as the whole ship continued to rock from the firing of the unknown enemy.  Rommie turned and walked out of medical heading straight for command with little Dylan right on her heels, running to keep up with her long strides.  Trance climbed up on her stool and tried to reach over Tyr on the bed to reach the other strap; unable to reach it with her smaller frame she climbed on the bed and around Tyr connecting the two straps.  Mildly out of breath Trance wondered if they made smaller medical beds somewhere.  Her questions went unanswered as another blast rocked the ship.  She slipped off the stool and landed on her butt while she heard an uff as Harper fell of the bed across from her.  Beka somehow remained on the bed but hopped down the moment the shaking stopped and ran over to Harper.  Trance stood up rubbing her now sore bottom when a hand grabbing her arm from behind stopped her.

            "Where am I?  What is happening?"  Tyr demanded.  Trance wiggled her arm out of Tyr's grip.

            "I've been over this one too many times today, you are on a ship, you where turned back into a kid, even though at the time of the attack you were a grownup."  Tyr just stared as Trance fighting against the strap keeping him on the table.

            "If we are friends then free me."

            "In a few minutes, I need to run some scans and first help Harper."  Tyr continued to struggle against the straps maneuvering his bone blades up and over to them.  Seeing he had the situation well in hand Trance walked over to where Harper was sitting cross legged cradling his injured arm while Beka hovered over him.

            "Can you bend it, huh, huh?  Cause if you can't it's broken that's what my daddy taught me.  He taught me all about patching people up on the Maru.  Now let me see your hand."  Trance knelt down beside Harper and gently took a hold of his wrist examine it.

            "I am going to bend it, stop me if it hurts Shay."  Harper gave a quick fearful nod.  Trance slowly bent the wrist to which Harper gave a quite whimper and stared into her eyes with a silent pleading with her to stop.  Trance stopped and picked up her stool which was now becoming her most used medical supply and began digging through a cabinet pulling out some herbs and bandages.  The wrist looked fine, just sprained and sore, Harper wouldn't be able to put weight on it for a while but small injuries were more dramatic in young kids.  Trance pulled out all her supplies and set them next to Harper, whose eyes grew in fear of everything and moved backwards looking for another place to hide.  

He was stopped by Beka, "oh no you don't go running away and hiding again were I have to go and fish you out, and don't think I won't"  A small sad smile graced Harper's lips as he stayed were he was halfway between his hiding place and the medical supplies.  Trance finished getting the things she would need to fix Harper's wrist and then grabbed one other thing.  She had taken it from Harper the last time he was in medical but she figured it wouldn't do him any harm now.

            She picked up the can and set it in front of the supplies.  Harper turned his head, asking the question with his eyes, "yes it's yours if you let me treat your wrist."

            "Hey my dad says kids aren't suppose to drink sparky why does he get it and I don't"

            "Because I said so," Trance said as she handed Harper the drink and began dressing his wrist.

~~~*~~~

            "Rommie, slow down!"  Dylan cried out as he gasped for air.  Man weren't kids supposed to have endless energy.  Maybe that hadn't caught up with him yet.  Although memories of his childhood where getting closer.  It was hard to describe, it was like they were no longer foggy images in the back of his head but it was like they happened yesterday.  He could almost smell the house he had grown up in and the smell of his parents when they came home from the mine everyday.  In his head he knew he was on the Andromea over 300 years from when he was a child but part of him kept looking around amazed he was on a real common wealth starship, and even more amazing he was the captain.  Rommie turned around giving Dylan the look of death.  She scooped him up in her arms and began walking towards command.  "Rommie I need you to slow down not start carrying me."

            "Dylan, we are under attack.  It would be foolish for me to walk at your slower speed to get to the command deck.  This way is faster."  Dylan momentarily swallowed his pride knowing he would get nowhere arguing with Rommie.  The ship rocked under more fire but Rommie remained on her feet.  Dylan found himself clinging to her, partly to keep from falling and partly in fear.  And he thought adults where suppose to be fearless, he was an adult, but he couldn't remember if that meant he was never afraid.  Rommie got to the bridge and placed Dylan back on the floor.  

Dylan ran to the weapons control only to find that he could see the controls but not reach them. Another round of firing and Dylan lost his balance falling down and hitting his head on the consul.  He tried to stand up but the continuous firing caused him to lose his balance again.  Some women stepped over him and began hitting buttons on the console above him.  He just sat on the floor and cried.  Where was he, why wasn't his parents here, and did no one care that he was hurt?  Dylan pulled his feet up to his chest and just let the tears flow, this was so unfair, and didn't anyone else see that?

~~~*~~~

"The enemy ship is retreating Dylan."  Rommie said as she looked between her legs getting her first glance at her crying Captain.

"How do you know my name?"

"Well when you grow up you're going to be my captain."

"No I'm not, I'm not going to work in the mines like Mommy and Daddy.  Where is my mommy?" Dylan said with a sniffle as a new round of tears came to his face.

"Why don't I explain it all to you as we go to medical to get that cut on your head looked at?"

"I don't want to go anywhere with you," Dylan said as he crossed his arms leaned back against the base of the weapons consul.  "You're a stranger and Mommy told me never to go with stranger."

"I'm not a stranger, I'm your ship and I have known you for over 300 years…"

"No there's no way you could know me for that long, cause I would never live for that long, you're a liar lady."

"I am no lair and I am no lady, I am a warship and you are my captain and we are going to medical if I have to carry you kicking and screaming all the way."  With that Rommie picked Dylan off the floor and put him on her hip.  She was glad that being a robot gave her extra strength cause eight years olds where kind of big to be carrying around a ship.  

Dylan was surprise at her force for a moment and actually quiet before he let out an ear piercing scream. "Put me down, I want to go home, I want my mommy."  Rommie turned off her audio sensors, 'it's good to be a robot' she thought as she carried her screaming captain off to medical.

~~~*~~~

_She has future plans and dreams at night..._

_When they tell her life is hard she says_

_that's__ alright!_

_Faith Hill, Wild One_

_~~~TBC~~~_


End file.
